Family Duty
by Black Rook
Summary: ATF Universe. When Ezra sees a picture of Vin's mother, he is positive he's seen her before. But where? Completed.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I still don't own them.

_Special thanks to Tiffany Pena for the beta-reading!_

**Family Duty**

**1. **

For once, the four months of thorough and laborious work had paid off completely – the bust went off without a hitch. Bad guys were arrested, illegal arms confiscated, and all that was accomplished without a single shot being fired. It was almost boring, but Vin surely didn't mean to complain; they could use some boredom, just for a change.

By the time the sharpshooter made it down from his observation post, Chris had already gone to collect Ezra from the PD, and Josiah and Nathan had returned to the office, but Buck and JD were still at the warehouse with him. Wilmington was supervising the process of securing the arms, JD was taking down cameras from the walls – no way would he trust some clean-up crew with his precious toys.

"Hey, Junior." Buck raised his head from another box. "We left you without work today, didn't we?"

Vin shrugged. "Can't say I'm complaining. If they believe more in their lawyers than in their guns…"

"Then a disappointment waits for them there," JD interrupted from the ladder, trying his best to mimic Ezra's accent, and then added in his normal voice. "DA Grady was awfully pleased with the amount of 'legally obtained evidence'."

Buck laughed at that, and Vin joined him; he remembered Grady's grin at their last meeting before the bust, and it sure had been predatory. Or maybe even vampire-like. Nobody would get away this time.

A couple of hours later, around noon, they finally arrived back at the federal building. Buck and JD went down to the labs, while Vin came to the office. Ezra was the only one there, sitting at his desk typing something with concentration.

"Hey, Ez. Where is everyone?"

"Chris is at a meeting with Travis," Ezra answered, continuing to hit the keys. "Josiah is discussing something with DA Grady, and Nathan went to Ballistics to help Buck with weapons." Ezra finished whatever he'd been typing and turned to Vin with a wide smile on his face. "Good day, Mr. Tanner, nice to see you."

"You too, Ez." Especially not through the telescopic sight from the nearest roof. "It was a good show for Oscar back there, you know."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Tanner. One always feels inspiration when playing for such a well-versed audience."

It had taken Vin a while to start understanding Ezra's manner of speech, but now he had no trouble translating this to '_I_ _know I'm safe when you are watching my back, thank you_', so he grinned and asked: "You okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Mr. Tanner." Vin raised an eyebrow, and Ezra continued "Or I will be once I get reacquainted with my badly missed silk sheets."

"Think Chris'll let us go early today?"

"There is some chance, Mr. Tanner. Another good thing about uneventful busts – the paperwork is bearable."

"Guess that's a hint, huh?" Vin went to his desk – the report wouldn't write itself.

It wasn't that hard, actually; Vin just opened the report from the last 'uneventful bust' (which had been 6 months ago, they'd been backup for Team 4) and changed some details. He was re-reading the report for the second time, when a strange sound came from Ezra's desk.

"Ez? Something wrong?"

"Vin, I think you should see this."

Vin didn't like the tone of Ezra's voice, so in the next moment he was by his side, looking at the monitor with him. The local news site was opened; Ezra highlighted one paragraph and Vin caught sight of the name of the street he lived on, then Ezra began to read it aloud:

"The Fire on Chambers Street. The call, reporting a fire on the first floor of apartment building 23 on Chambers St., was received at 8:53 a.m. The fire was contained at 9:23 a.m. and extinguished at 9:51 a.m. More than 50 people were evacuated from the building, the resident of the burned-out apartment was hospitalized with minor injures. According to tentative findings, the fire was caused by the explosion of a homemade still."

"Old Jack, damn him!" Vin hit the wall by Chris's office and began pacing. "I warned him dozens of times and ruined the damn thing myself at least twice! Darn fool has finally done it! Dammit, I need to check on things there…"

"Of course, Mr. Tanner. Anyway, it's lunch time already. I'll leave a note to our colleagues."

"Ezra, you don't have to…" It was Standish's turn to raise an eyebrow, and Vin didn't finish the sentence.

All in all, it might have been much worse. Jack's apartment had burned-out completely, but the fire hadn't spread further – those who projected the building must have done something right. Of course, the basement was flooded, but it had been empty for some time waiting for a tenant, so the main problem of the building now was the smell of smoke (the smoke itself had already vanished) and the soot. After making sure none of the neighbors he knew had suffered damage from smoke inhalation and that everyone was more or less okay, Vin, closely followed by Ezra, headed off to check on his apartment. The layer of soot was practically invisible, but the smoky smell was even stronger than in corridor.

"Well, Mr. Tanner," Ezra said, helping him open the kitchen window, "I certainly hope you are not intending to sleep here tonight. Severe headache is guaranteed."

Vin, already feeling nauseous, had to agree. Industrial smoke had nothing in common with the smell one brought home from a camping trip. "Reckon I'll be bunking with Chris for a while."

"I would also recommend you to take anything of value you have here and leave the windows wide open for a week, at least."

"Seems like a good idea. I'll be right back, prop that window with something, ok?"

Receiving a nod in answer, Vin went to the bedroom. The window there was less stubborn, and Vin managed to open it alone. Taking a deep breath of clean, chill February air, he glanced around the room and saw a paperback crime novel lying on the floor; he'd picked it up from JD on one of their recent stake-outs. The story was pure trash, but the book would do nicely as a prop for the window, not letting it be slammed by the wind.

Now to the 'valuable things'; actually, Vin only had two of them in this apartment – his spare gun and the framed picture of his mother. The rest was divided between his desk in the ATF office, Chris's ranch, and the house of Nettie Wells. Vin pulled the gun from its holster under the bed and put it in its case, next he grabbed the special holster, then he carefully took the frame off his nightstand with his other hand and went back to the kitchen (which in truth was twice as big as the bedroom and had a couch in it).

He laid the case and holster on said couch but was reluctant to just lay the frame, so he handed it to Ezra. Then Tanner kicked his duffel bag from under the couch, got a bunch of clothes from the closet and threw them in it. Of course, these clothes would spend the coming night hanging outside Chris's house, airing. He put the case and holster in the bag, looked up and saw Ezra staring at the picture with a very strange expression on his face. Vin was puzzled at first, but then remembered that Ezra hadn't seen the picture of his mother before, of all the guys only Chris had. '_Hey, he probably thinks she's my girlfriend!_' Vin chuckled to himself. Annie Tanner on that picture was almost a decade younger than Vin was now.

"That's my mother, Ez. Annie Tanner."

"Oh." Ezra took his eyes from the picture to Vin and back. "Now I see the resemblance. Vin, she is very beautiful."

"Thanks." Vin took the frame back, gently wrapped it into one of his T-shirts, put it in the bag and zipped it up. "Well, let's get out of here, before we start seeing pink elephants or Chris decides to send out the cavalry."

"Right behind you, Mr. Tanner."

**2. **

"Hey, Ez, you with us?"

"Pardon me, Mr. Wilmington?"

"You've lost a good fifteen minutes there, Ez. Sure you didn't inhale something from that still back in Purgatorio?" Buck finished the question and tried to duck Vin's slap on the head. Unsuccessfully.

Team 7 was sitting in the Saloon, quietly celebrating the end of the case. The real celebration was postponed till March, when AD Travis had promised a week's vacation for the whole team.

"Unlike you, Mr. Wilmington, I'm not under any influence. My apologies for missing part of the conversation, gentlemen, I must be a little tired."

"I bet," Chris mumbled. "Standish, you've already handed in your report, so you're fully entitled to at least a couple of days off. You can actually take them, you know."

"Why, Mr. Larabee, what a novel idea! I believe I'll think on it. But I believe it's time for me to head home." Ezra began to get up.

"You sure you won't fall asleep behind the wheel?"

"I appreciate your concern, Mr. Jackson, but I assure you I'm perfectly capable of driving myself home. Gentlemen," with a court nod, Ezra left the Saloon.

Ezra slowly drove through the familiar streets of Denver, the image of Annie Tanner fully occupying his mind, as it had ever since he'd left Vin's apartment. He was positive he'd seen the girl on the picture somewhere before, a blue-eyed blonde in a notable red-yellow sweater, obviously knitted by hand, but where? Where could he possible have seen a picture of Annie Tanner? Annie Tanner… Annie Ramsey! The realization struck suddenly, and Ezra quickly pulled over, not wanting to cause an accident while the memories flooded his mind.

_Old Victorian house, warm and cozy. Large main hall, with a working fireplace and walls adorned with the pictures of a girl, from infancy to late teens; she was wearing a red-yellow knitted sweater in the last ones. The hostess of the house, the girl's mother, a grey-haired woman in round glasses; Ms. Alice Ramsey, who still believed, against all odds, that one day her prodigal daughter would come home. _

There were three people in this world to whom Ezra Standish owed the fact that he wasn't completely his mother's creature. Three people, thanks to whom he'd managed to grow up into a person able to earn a place among Team 7, to gain the friendship and trust of its members. Ms. Alice Ramsey, an English teacher at Bradford's boarding school in Memphis, was one of those three.

Ezra had been 13 when he was admitted to Bradford's; already a complete cynic by then, he'd believed he knew more than his teachers. Ms. Ramsey had proved him wrong on the first day; and by the end of the first week a full-scale war had been going between a cocky flamboyant teenager and a middle-aged perceptive teacher, affectionately and deservedly nicknamed Miss Marple by her students.

Ezra didn't remember when his animosity had turned into deep respect and then friendship, only that it had. The boy he'd been then, had used an expanded English vocabulary to confuse people around him – Ms. Alice had shown him the beauty of the language itself. He'd read nearly anything printed– she'd taught him to distinguish the true art from the garbage, both in literature and cinematography. She'd shared with him her love and knowledge of European culture, and somewhere along the way had managed to remind him about timeless truths, things he'd never forgotten afterward.

Ezra had spent only a year in Bradford's, but he still kept in touch with Ms. Alice; and, of course, he knew about her runaway daughter – first through local gossip, then later from the woman herself. Was it possible that at some point in her journeys Annie Ramsey had become Annie Tanner? It'd been a while since Ezra had seen Annie's pictures, but he remembered the sweater. And yet, he had to make sure before he would tell anyone of his suspicions.

Finally back at home, Ezra booted up his laptop and found a suitable flight to Memphis in the morning, there were plenty of seats. Deciding that Chris and Vin must have already made it to the ranch, he dialed Chris's home number.

"Larabee."

"Good evening, sir."

"Ezra? Decided to take these days off after all? "

"Something like that, Mr. Larabee. Will it be acceptable if I leave town until Monday?"

"Don't see why not. Where are you going to?"

"Memphis." A year ago Ezra would have been irritated with the question, seeing it as an invasion of his privacy from his superior, and tried to avoid an honest answer, but now he knew why Chris always asked. These days, when every second news release told about terrorists, air crashes, or natural calamities, Larabee preferred to know exactly where on the planet each one of his men was at any given moment. And Ezra understood him fully.

"Memphis?" Chris asked, surprised. Clearly he expected to hear Las Vegas, or the name of some famous ski resort.

"Memphis. I was reminded about a family duty there I've been neglecting for some time, I want to fulfill it while I have the opportunity."

"You sure? You need rest, not another undercover assignment."

Ezra chuckled. "Mr. Larabee, while I concur with your assessment of my family events in general, I assure you that this one is an exception. Everything will be all right."

"If you say so. Take care and don't turn off your cell!"

"Yes, sir." Ezra hung up, telling himself he hadn't actually lied to Chris. Annie's picture had reminded him about Ms. Alice, and he hadn't seen her in person in almost five years – and that was a shame. And Ms. Alice had been more of a family to him than most of his Uncles and Aunts put together. But now he needed a plausible excuse for showing up at her door out of the blue; he had no right to risk raising false hopes or to bring unnecessary pain. The truth would have to wait until he was sure of his suspicions.

_To be continued__…_


	2. Chapter 2

**3.**

Sunday afternoon found one Ezra P. Standish sitting in a plane flying back to Denver. A picture of Alice and Annie Ramsey rested in his briefcase, carefully put inside a book. And there weren't any doubts that the girl in that picture and the young woman on the picture Vin Tanner had were the same person.

One part of Ezra felt lower than dirt for hiding the truth from Ms. Alice and, well, stealing the picture from her, though he had put a copy in the photo album the day after he'd taken the original. The other, more childish part, was actually thrilled at the fact that he had been able to con her – something he had never achieved while being at Bradford's. When it came to pranks and mischief, 'Miss Marple' had always known who had been responsible.

As he had countless times during the weekend, Ezra found himself wondering how it might have been if one Vin Tanner had studied at Bradford's a year or two below him… it certainly wouldn't have been boring, but they would have ended either as mortal enemies or the best of friends! Ezra clenched his fists tightly and unclenched them, putting a firm hold on his imagination. No point in dwelling on the 'what-might-have-been's if someone had actually bothered to look for Annie's family after her death and not just dumped Vin into the system. One couldn't change the past, only the future.

Anyway, he had to talk to Vin first. He knew that Vin's father, Annie's husband, had been a Texas ranger, killed in the line of duty; after that Annie and Vin had been traveling, until Annie had died suddenly from some natural cause. Who knows, maybe she was trying to get home with her boy and just couldn't make it… and if Ezra was to tell Ms. Alice about Annie's death, he needed to know more. And he would prefer to do it with Vin by his side, as a living proof that Annie hadn't vanished completely.

'_And how exactly are you planning to break all this to Vin?_' A nasty little voice inside Ezra's head asked him when he'd claimed his luggage. This wasn't a kind of talk you start while making coffee in the office or during a lunch break; and Vin most likely was still staying at Larabee's ranch. Though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Ezra thought, driving from the airport parkway. He knew Vin well enough to consider him a close friend and realize they had much in common, but he had no idea how Vin would react to the news he had blood family out there. Maybe Chris's presence during 'the talk' would smooth things over.

Monday in the office happened to be fussy – a lot of unexpected meetings and minor errands. Ezra was rather grateful of that, though, it meant his teammates didn't have the time to question him about his 'family weekend'. On the other hand, he hadn't come up with a suitable way to invite himself to the ranch for the evening, so in the end, he just decided to show up unannounced. After all, each one of his teammates had paid him an unexpected visit more than once for less serious reasons – and sometimes without any reasons at all.

**4. **

Chris left Vin to make his choice between ski jumping and giant slalom on different sport channels, and went to the porch to have a smoke. He was halfway through the cheroot, when a familiar Jag appeared in the driveway. Oh. He'd had a feeling Ezra hadn't been quite himself today – must be really serious for him to show up like this. Well, at least he did show instead of handling whatever trouble he had on his own. Ezra reached the house, parked and left the car; Chris threw his cigar butt to the snow, actually pleased with his own timing – if he hadn't been on the porch already, Standish might have spent an hour in the car, gathering his strength.

"Mr. Larabee."

"Evening, Ez. Something wrong?"

"I hope not. But there are some things I need to tell Vin."

"Come in, he's in the den."

Ezra entered, and Chris followed. If Ezra wanted a private conversation, he could just say so.

Some commercials had just started when they entered the den; Vin muted the TV and turned his head.

"Oh, hey, Ez. Something wrong?"

"No. But I learned some things recently, and I think you need to know them, too. Vin, it concerns your mother. "

Vin paled and threw Chris a pleading look; Chris nodded, silently saying he'd stay, and came close to the couch. Meanwhile, Ezra sat beside Vin and put a large picture on the table in front of them. A woman and a teenage girl were smiling on it; and though the girl had long curls instead of a short haircut and was a few years younger than on the pictures Vin had, Chris recognized Annie Tanner immediately.

"What the hell?" Vin whispered. "Who is it?"

"It's Mrs. Alice Ramsey and her daughter Annie, on the day of her 16th birthday" Ezra began in an expressionless voice. "They lived in Memphis, where Ms. Alice worked as an English teacher. A few months after that picture was taken, Annie ran away with some rocker. He dumped her in the next town, but she had liked being on the road. She sent a letter to her mother and promised she would return when she found herself. Ms. Alice has been waiting for her ever since. She is still waiting in the same old house, Vin, stubbornly refusing all the persistent offers to sell it. Still waiting for her daughter to come home."

Ezra stopped talking; Vin was silently tracing his mother's image with his fingers.

"How do you know her?" Chris asked quietly.

"Ms. Alice was my teacher for a year, when I was thirteen. I visited her quite often back then, and continued to stay in touch afterwards. Annie's pictures adorn the walls all over her house."

"I need a bit of fresh air, guys," Vin said in a muffled voice, took the picture and, moving a little unsteadily, left the den. A couple of moments later Chris followed him; satisfied that Vin had put his boots on and grabbed a jacket (there was a snowstorm coming), Chris returned to the room. He didn't know yet what to think of all this, so he went to the bar, took an opened bottle of scotch with a couple of glasses, and came back to the couch. He half filled both glasses, pushed one towards Ezra, and, with the other one in hand, sat on the nearby chair.

"So that was your 'family duty' in Memphis." No accusation, just a mere statement of fact.

"It wasn't a lie, Chris," Ezra answered wearily. "I really haven't been back to visit as often as I should have, and as for the family… She did invite me for Christmas while I was at that school, you know."

"And you accepted?" Chris asked skeptically. Before Ezra had accepted an invitation to a simple BBQ at the ranch for the first time, six months of teamwork had passed and a couple of life-and-death situations had occurred; and Chris highly doubted Standish had been a more open or trusting person in his teens.

"I wasn't intending to, but Ms. Alice knew how to persuade." Ezra finally took his glass and sipped a little, and then, somewhat to Chris's surprise, elaborated: "Ms. Alice was substituting our supervisor on holidays. Of course, there were a number of students staying at Bradford's, the school, for holidays, but I was the only one from my class, so, technically, her only charge. She stated that, if I accepted her offer, she wouldn't have to spend Christmas at the school quarters. I couldn't force the lady out of her home on Christmas, could I?"

Chris chuckled. "Of course you couldn't, that would be most ungentlemanly of you. A wise woman."

"Indeed. We set up a tree, not very big, but full-bodied." Dreamy notes appeared in Ezra's voice, and Chris held his breath – Standish seldom opened up like this. "We decorated it; Ms. Alice has a collection of old hand-made ornaments, real things, not at all like that Chinese garbage they sell nowadays…there was dinner with five kinds of dessert, a couple of good movies, music and talking, and watching the stars…it was a right Christmas."

Ezra got silent, and Chris realized why the story sounded so familiar. It reminded him of Vin, one starry night last winter, telling him about his first Christmas with Nettie. Tanner had been older then, almost sixteen, but the mood had been the same; a peaceful haven amongst a very turbulent childhood.

Chris felt a sudden anger growing inside him, anger at a heartless system, at the unfairness of life in general as he thought about a boy, struggling through the streets on his own, and a lonely woman, growing old in an empty house. Vin had found Nettie and turned out okay, and Chris was sure Ezra wasn't the only student remembering Ms. Alice with such fondness, but it didn't make it right. Chris gulped the remnants of his scotch, trying to drown that anger, and asked:

"What are you going to do now?"

"Everything in my power to persuade Vin to visit Memphis with me. Ms. Alice deserves to know her Annie had met a decent man and was happy, even if only for a little while. She deserves to know she has a grandson - one of the best men in this world. And Vin…" Ezra didn't finish his thought, finishing his drink instead, but Chris knew what he wanted to say. Vin could use a little more love in his life, that unconditional love that only parents and sometimes grandparents can give to you.

And to meet someone who knew and loved his mother…. Chris knew how desperately Vin clung to his faint memories and the few mementos he had; now he would have a lot more than three pictures and a couple of old things, if he was ready to face it. Well, fate sometimes had a funny way of correcting its mistakes, and Ezra had handled the situation just right. Chris filled both glasses anew, this time to the brim – a sign that he would back Ezra up in this.

**5. **

Nettie Wells hadn't planned on making a pie on Monday evening, but a portion of apples had badly needed saving. She'd just put the finished pie on the kitchen table, when the doorbell rang.

"Must be Vin," Nettie mumbled to herself, going to the door. "That boy can smell baked goods before they were even put into the oven!"

It was, indeed, Vin, standing on the porch, but his appearance didn't dispose to jokes.

"What happened?"

Vin shook his head. "Nothing, Miz Nettie. Just need to talk."

"Then come inside, boy, come inside."

Vin entered; Nettie helped him take his jacket off – he had some sheet of paper in his hand which he refused to let go – and ushered the man to the kitchen. Vin sat at the table, but didn't even notice the pie; whatever the matter was, it must be serious. Nettie reheated the electric kettle, poured two big mugs of tea and put them on the table.

"Vin," she touched his arm gently. "Tell me."

Vin turned the sheet of paper he'd brought, and Nettie saw it was a picture, with a woman and a girl. And the girl was Annie Tanner.

"Ezra showed up today," Vin began quietly, wrapping his fingers around the mug of tea. "Turns out he knows my grandmother…Mom's mother."

Vin finished the whole story, not that it was very long, and took a sip from his mug. "Nettie, what should I do now? I don't know…"

"Well, boy, that's obvious." Nettie stood up, took a knife and began to slice the pie. "You grab Standish, catch the first available flight to Tennessee and fly there. That poor woman has waited long enough."

"But Nettie, I…" Vin blushed slightly and stared down into his mug.

Nettie sighed and smiled sadly. "You know what, son? The Good Lord has established that every single person, coming to this world, is entitled to have at least two grandmothers. That means you too, Vin Tanner."

Vin blushed fully, indicating that Nettie had guessed right, and she put a plate with a slice of pie in front of him.

"So," Nettie asked, when Vin more or less overcame his embarrassment and wiped out his slice. "You planning to stay here tonight?"

"No. If I want to wring a couple of days off from Chris, I'll need an early start."

Nettie chuckled. "Take the rest of the pie with you, son, you might need a bribe."

**6. **

The bottle was already empty; Chris and Ezra had spent about two hours, sipping their scotch in silence, each one deep in his own thoughts and memories. Chris would never have thought Ezra was any good at comfortable silence, but, well, life was full of surprises. It was getting late, though, and Chris wondered if he should start worrying, call Nettie or try Vin's cell, but then the front door slammed. Soon Vin entered the den with a paper bag in his hand; his hair was wet – that snowstorm must have started. And, judging by his eyes, Vin had reached a decision and was at peace with it.

"Cowboy, do you think you can manage without me and Ez for a couple more days? Reckon we have a family emergency in Memphis."

Nettie sat in an old rocker with a cup of cocoa. Tomorrow she would have to clean up the second guestroom; she had a feeling she would be receiving a visitor soon. And she was looking forward to meeting Mrs. Alice Ramsey – anyone who managed to get through to a teenage Standish and impress him must be an amazing person. They would have a lot to talk about. And besides, Nettie glanced at a big picture of 'Team 7 and friends' hanging on her wall, she and Evie Travis could use some help in keeping an eye on those overgrown boys calling themselves Federal Agents.

**The End**


End file.
